(One of a series of daily posts about Winston S. Churchill.)
When Churchill addressed Parliament on Dec. 11, 1941, the British public knew America had suffered a great defeat at Pearl Harbor and Japan's military forces were advancing throughout the Pacific.
The preceding day, Churchill had been shocked to learn that in a single engagement lasting but a few minutes, Japanese bombers had sunk two of Britain's great warships: the battleship, HMS Prince of Wales, and the battle cruiser, HMS Repulse. Most hands were lost, including Churchill's close friend, Admiral Sir Thomas Phillips.
In those circumstances, Churchill told Parliament:
Victory is traditionally elusive. Accidents happen. Mistakes are made. Sometimes right things turn our wrong and wrong things turn our right. War is very difficult, especially to those who are taking part in it or conducting it."___________
Churchill's speech cited in Martin Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill: Road to Victory, 1941-1945, (p. 3).
1 comments:
From the Dec 11 issue of the Guardian, byline Robert Fisk:
Churchil Says He Cannot See Victory
Today in Parliment a shaken Churchil, whom some call the lapdog of the crippled US president, exposed his....
-AC
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